Page 16 of Possessive Mafia Vows

Peering out the window at the city lights, I realize that we’re almost at the Dragon’s Den, the nightclub and casino owned by Mateo Dragonetti, leader of the oldest Sicilian mafia family in New York. There was a time when the name alone would’ve raised the hair on the back of my neck and inspired me to seek an alternative route. But after his daughter kidnapped Sienna and Victoria’s brother Mason, the mafia leader agreed to the alliance our family had been looking to arrange for years.

I ask Seamus to stop outside the Dragon’s Den.

Renovations were recently completed on the aging building, and it gleams like polished glass when I walk inside. The concierge waves me through to Don Mateo’s private room above the casino, and I find him seated at a table overlooking the main floor below, a glass of Cognac in front of him.

He gestures for the bartender to fix me a drink as I take a seat opposite him. “How was the trip?” he asks.

“Much needed.”

He studies me coolly. “And I should imagine it already feels like a distant memory.”

He sips his drink and sighs as the liquid goes down. He’s still a good-looking guy. Craggier than he would’ve been in his youth, but his white hair is still thick, and his eyes have retained their blue despite the bloodshed he must’ve witnessed in his time. Even so, his daughter’s selfish antics have aged him prematurely, and I wonder how much blame he has shouldered himself for raising her to be so self-absorbed and so utterly devoid of compassion.

The bartender returns with an ice-cold beer for me, condensation dripping down the outside of the glass.

I sip the liquid; the bubbles do nothing to relieve the niggling questions buzzing around inside my head. “Six years ago,” I begin, “I met a girl.”

The old man sets his glass down and sits back in his seat. “I’m listening.”

I tell him about the accident, and the part my brothers played in rescuing me from the situation, and he remains silent.

“The girl I met that night is Sienna Walker, Victoria’s best friend.”

I’ve no idea how much, if anything, he knows about Sienna, but I know that he and Victoria have become close while she helped design the new Dragon’s Den.

“For five years she believed that I left her for dead. I don’t expect her to unpack those emotions and fold them in my favor overnight of course.”

“She’s the reason you went away.” It’s a statement not a question.

“She is. But my feelings haven’t changed.”

He spreads his hands wide. “Did you expect them to?”

I smile. “No, I went away to give myself some breathing space.”

Mateo nods. “And now that you are back?”

“There’s another guy on the scene.”

I don’t know where Nick fits into her life given that I had my cock inside her a couple of hours ago, but this is the simplified version for Mateo’s benefit.

“Is it serious?”

“Not from what I’ve seen so far.”

He drains his glass and waits patiently for me to continue. If his daughter had an ounce of her father’s composure and dignity, things might’ve turned out very differently for our families. Caleb might’ve married her when they were younger and secured the alliance that would’ve set us all on different paths.

What ifs and maybes.

“My gut is telling me not to trust this guy,” I say.

“Your gut or your heart?”

“Both?” I shrug. “He’s clean. There’s not even so much as a parking ticket against his name.”

“Too clean.” The bartender brings Mateo another drink and swaps the new glass for the empty one in one fluid movement. “What were you hoping to find?”

“A motive for dating her now, when he has been her surgeon since the accident.”

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